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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. chip — for betting
  3. cap — a lid
  4. drill — army training
  5. present — a gift
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. cap — of ice
  8. degree — temperature
  9. lean — thin
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. present — there
  15. game — a match
  16. drill — the tool
  17. lean — to bend
  18. stem — to come from
  19. degree — an amount
  20. cap — a hat
  21. drill — a practice
  22. chip — to eat
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. present — the time now

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com